Styrenic foam laminates have been used as acoustical and thermal insulation for a variety of applications, for instance as automobile headliners. Recent advances in this area have lead to the development of thermoformable styrenic foam laminates which can be provided in complex shapes. Such laminates are able to retain a desired shape because of the use of deformation-resistant coatings, for instance a polymeric-impregnated cloth facing on at least one surface of the styrenic foam components. For illustrative laminates see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,476,183; 4,489,126; 4,526,829; 4,531,994; 4,557,970; 4,529,641 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 653,658 filed Sept. 1, 1984 all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Such laminates can be preheated to thermoforming temperatures of the styrenic foam components prior to thermoforming to useful shapes for acoustical and thermal insulation applications. When such thermoforming shapes are used as automobile headliners, a decorative trim, such as polyurethane foam, covered with a decorative fabric or vinyl facing, is generally utilized for an enhanced aesthetic appearance. Headliners of such thermoformed laminates have been attached to the interior roof panels of automobiles by a number of means including, for instance, visor brackets, dome lights, garment hooks and fasteners with decorative heads inserted through the headliner and anchored in holes in steel framing. The margins of the headliners are generally anchored to framing at the lower side of the roof panels. For instance, the side edges of the headliners are often secured to the lower roof panel by use of garnish molding which is fastened to framing members. Such garnish molding also covers the unsightly edge of the headliner where the interior layers of the laminate are often exposed. In some cases, for instance at the windshield edge of the headliner, garnish molding had not been used but rather visor brackets and fasteners with colored heads have been used to secure the headliner to the lower edge of the roof panel. In some cases the unsightly lower edge of the laminate has been covered by edge wrapping with the decorative trim.
An object of this invention is to provide a thermoformable automotive vehicle headliner of a thermoplastic foam laminate with an improved margin that can be fastened in an aesthetically pleasing manner to automobile roofs without the use of garnish molding or other fasteners exposed on the decorative surface of the headliner.
Another object of this invention is to provide a thermoformable laminate structure of a thermoplastic foam sheet having a substantially rigid retroflexed margin.
A further object of this invention is to provide an automotive vehicle headliner assembly with means for engaging the headliner with a retroflexed margin without the use of garnish molding.
These and other objects of this invention will be apparent from the following description and claims.